Rules
by boreum dal
Summary: "What if I'm not telling you the truth about who I am?" In the midst of the war against Amon, the stakes become even higher for Korra when she realizes she's fallen for her enemy's right-hand man. "You could kill me right here, you know. No one would ever know. Your secret would die with me." Equalist!Mako AU
1. Part One

**Disclaimer:** I don't own or claim to own any part of the wonderful world of the Legend of Korra—that credit goes to Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.

So, after posting this originally to my ficblr, I decided to give it a whirl and post it here, too. I've never really strayed out of my usual fandoms on this site, but honestly, Korra captured my heart and attention and imagination so thoroughly that I couldn't stay away from writing this story after it was over. Kudos especially to -everdeen and makos-lightningrod at tumblr, who created these _brilliant_ Equalist!Mako gifsets that totally set off the idea and gave me so much inspiration to write the story. It was a challenge to rebuild parts of the Korra universe and sever certain original relationships, but hopefully, everything is still pleasingly familiar and sensible. And if you squint in this first part, you'll be able to see the Makorra already! I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Rules**

_"You say you know love, but you are just reflecting words you hear."_

Part One

_Patience, patience, patience._

As several Equalist soldiers trotted through the darkened alley, Korra had to resist the urge to bolt from her hiding spot behind a pile of large wooden crates in the corner and run. They would see her, she knew, and with five of them and only one of her, there was a good chance she wouldn't be able to fend them all off at once. She held her breath and watched through a crack between the boxes as they walked about slowly, glancing around for her.

"I could've sworn she ran out the door and came through this way," one of them said uncertainly.

"She's probably already long gone by now," another said. "We were too slow."

A sigh came from a third. "Amon won't like this."

Korra watched as they strategized, trying to figure out if they should continue to pursue her or call it a night. Interestingly, she noticed, the leader of the pack—a fully-masked figure who, alongside another that Korra had come to know simply as the Lieutenant, always seemed to appear right at Amon's side—seemed very quiet. She shrank back some more, hoping it wasn't because he suspected she was around. If she were caught now, it would all be over.

"Well, what's the word on the others?" the first spoke again. "Did we succeed in capturing Sato's daughter, at least?"

"She got away. And she took one of our hostages while she was at it," the fourth said gruffly.

_Yes, Asami! _Korra felt relief flood through her system and watched with baited breath, hoping they would mention whom she'd managed to rescue...

"Who?"

"That pro-bender from the championships. I can't remember his name."

"The one with the hair?"

"Yeah, him. I don't know what they'll do with him, his bending is already gone."

The fourth scoffed.

Korra felt her shoulders relax ever so slightly at the good news. So they had retrieved Tahno. She needed to report back to Tenzin immediately and see how the others had fared. She rested on the balls of her feet and placed two fingers on the ground, ready to take off as soon as the slowly departing Equalists left the alleyway. As they reached the adjoining street, Korra scooted back slightly and stood, only to have to duck down again as the leader paused.

"Wait a moment," he said.

Slowly, he walked back down the alley as the others stood and watched him quizzically. Korra's eyes widened in panic and fear as she scooted herself as close to the alley wall as possible, hoping against hope that he would not see her. He moved closer and closer towards the boxes, his gaze fixated on them.

_He knows I'm here._

As he paused right in front of the crates, Korra shut her eyes, feeling a surge of adrenaline as she readied herself to shoot a flame in his face and run for her life.

But the moment never came, because his hand never reached out to grab her. A long few seconds passed, and Korra felt confusion mix with the fear that lingered in the pit of her stomach.

"What is it?" one of the others called.

The Equalist cocked his head to the side for a moment, and then he shrugged. "I thought I heard something, but it must have been a spider-rat. Let's go. It's been a long night."

Korra watched in shock as the Equalists left—for good this time—and fell back, panting, as painful relief rushed through her. Fate must have been on her side tonight, she thought—that was one of the narrowest escapes she'd ever encountered. Sighing, she pushed herself up and stole into the shadows to rush home.

* * *

"Hello?" Korra pushed aside the tent flap of her team's underground encampment. She tried to ignore the churning in her stomach. If anyone hadn't made it home tonight, she would never forgive herself.

"Oh, Korra! Thank goodness you're all right," Tenzin said, striding over to her to embrace her with Asami and Lin following suit.

"We were so worried," Asami said, pulling Korra into her arms and giving her a tight squeeze.

"Same goes for all of you." She pulled back and looked around to do a head count. Everyone in what she had affectionately come to know as "Team Avatar" was accounted for, she saw with satisfaction, and now, they had an additional member.

"Hi, Tahno," Korra said with a grin.

Tahno looked exhausted—the bags under his eyes had become even more pronounced since Korra had last seen him at the police station—but he also looked a little bit happier than before. He waved two fingers at her in greeting. "Hey, Uhvatar."

"Tell us everything," Lin urged as they sat down in a circle. "How did you escape?"

In the last few months, the Equalist movement had spread across Republic City with deadly speed, gaining more followers and more power as Amon removed the bending abilities of more and more citizens. When Hiroshi Sato, arguably the world's greatest innovator, was revealed to be one of Amon's biggest supporters, the movement gained even more ground. Not long after, Tarrlok, who had taken over the police force after Lin Beifong had resigned, was taken by the Equalists as well. Soon, Amon's forces were commandeering the city with unmatched technology and force at their side. Korra, Asami, Lin, Tenzin, and Tenzin's family had been forced to evacuate their homes and move underground, where Gommu, the strange homeless man Korra had met on her first day in the city, kindly provided them with a place to stay while they gained back some of their own morale.

While Amon spread propaganda proclaiming that he had driven the Avatar away from the city and that his mission was near complete, Korra had reluctantly bided her time. The team used Gommu's surprisingly vast network to find support and information, and late at night, several times a week, Team Avatar rushed through the streets to take back the city piece by piece. Their opposition was always strong, always challenging—but so far, they'd had more successes than failures, slowly gaining back some of Lin's captured men, destroying propaganda, disabling Equalist mecha, and taking out key Equalist supporters. Although Amon had told Republic City that he had scared off the Avatar, Korra wanted him to know that she was, in fact, still out there, waiting—and with each mission, she had made it more and more evident.

Tonight's mission had been simple enough: they were to infiltrate an old textile factory suspected to be an Equalist fortress.

"_They're holding several hostages beneath the facility, I'm sure of it," Lin said, pointing towards a spot on the blueprint that sat on the table. "Some of my men are down there, among others. Intel also tells me that they've got the star pro-bender who disappeared after testifying to the police. We should get him back, too."_

"_Tahno?" Korra said in awe. She'd been wondering what had happened to him, but she had assumed he had just left the city after playing his part to aid in the investigation. It couldn't have been easy, she thought, to live in a city that had once revered one for his bending prowess when he could not bend anymore. _

"_Punishment for speaking out against Amon," Tenzin said. "You're right. Let's bring him back as well."_

"_Won't there be security all over the place?" Asami said, staring at the map. The building was like a labyrinth, all corners and hidden turns. It would be difficult to navigate if they were going to be fighting their way through. _

_Lin took a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it onto the table. The others peered closely at it and saw that it was a poster for a rally, Amon's face plastered over it with a stylized rising sun sitting behind him. _

"_It's the largest rally of its kind so far. It's going to be at the arena," Lin said. "There's bound to be security in the factory, but it'll be minimal. We'll be able to take them down with ease. Amon will want his best men with him at the rally. He knows there's still opposition out there."_

"_So, what's the plan? Get in, grab our people, get out?" Korra asked._

"_Precisely. Your aim is to go unnoticed. But in the event that you are," Lin said, looking Korra in the eye, "take them out."_

But somehow, Amon had known. He had known, and he had sent one of his best—the leader of the pack of Equalists who had very nearly found Korra in the alley—to fight and capture as much of Team Avatar as possible. They had come in just as the team had moved to infiltrate the underground bunker of hostages, and everyone had been forced to scatter.

Initially, only the leader had chased after Korra. She had fought herself into exhaustion, dodging well-aimed kicks and blows and shooting back great bursts of fire that the Equalist had evaded just as skillfully. He had been frustratingly fast and precise, and his movements had differed from that of other Equalists she'd faced—in fact, he moved much more similarly to Amon, Korra thought—and it had thrown her off. Still, Korra had managed to gain the upper hand on him when she sent several beams of wood crashing down on him and shot the wood to flames, but more soldiers had appeared just at that moment, and far too spent to face all five of them at once, Korra had been forced to retreat.

To date, it had been one of the hardest fights of her life.

Asami's brow furrowed as Korra finished her story. "So they were after me, too, were they?"

Korra nodded. "I'm sorry, Asami. I guess they've finally gotten word that you're with us."

Asami sighed, and her eyes darkened. "I can't believe how far my father has fallen into that man's clutches."

"I know it must be hard, opposing him. But we're certainly glad you came to us," Tenzin said. "You have a home here now."

Asami smiled gratefully at Tenzin. "I guess I'll just have to be more careful from now on. But at least I don't have to hide any longer."

Lin frowned. "So, Amon's right-hand man—he fights differently, you say?"

"Yes." Korra folded her hands and brought them up to her chin as she thought. "Something about his style... It's almost like he's a bender."

Tenzin's eyebrows shot up. "Did he bend?"

"No. It was just that his movements seemed made to force something out of his hands—he fought with this strange distance and firmness. And he didn't use those electric batons that the Lieutenant uses so often. In fact," Korra said with surprised realization, "he didn't use any weapons at all."

"How bizarre," Lin said. "Come to think of it... Have we ever faced off with him?"

Korra shook her head. "No. Never just him. It's always just been the Lieutenant, or him with some of Amon's other men. That one has always been just at Amon's side—and when I've fought with Amon himself, he was fighting others. This is the first time I've fought him one-on-one."

"We'll have to be sure to keep an eye out for him," Asami said.

"Right." Korra sat back looked around at the group of people in her tent, their faces wound up with worry and frustration, and she tried to reduce the tenseness in her own expression. She let out a long exhale. "Smile, guys. We made it through another night. And I'm so happy that you're all okay."

Tenzin nodded. "Indeed—and after a night like tonight, we should most certainly be thankful for that. Let's get some rest, everyone. I'm sure you're all exhausted."

* * *

Part Two Preview:

_Korra looked over at him. She couldn't keep from asking. "And are you… Are you an Equalist now?"_

_Mako finally looked back at her, golden eyes suddenly a little bit wider. Was that surprise in his expression? Was he…? _

_Korra stared back, stomach churning. For some reason—even when she had no ties to this boy—she didn't want it to be true._

* * *

All for now! If you're itching to read the next couple of parts, they're on my ficblr—the link is in my profile! Regardless of whether you've read this already or not, though, I would love if you left a review! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Updates again tomorrow or the day after.

Love,

boreum dal


	2. Part Two

**Rules**

"_It's just another lie, it's just another calculation."_

Part Two

Korra carefully affixed the hood over her head after replacing the boulder that obscured the entrance to the underground network she had come to call home. It was unwise to go out in the daytime, particularly for her, but the team was running low on food, and she'd desperately felt as though she needed some air. Tenzin had been reluctant to let her go, but after some clever disguising—Pema had painted a remarkably realistic scar over her left cheek and Gommu had produced a shoulder-length, black-haired wig from who knew where—Korra had convinced him that it would be all right.

She let herself enjoy the day as she roamed through the forest to the city streets. It had been some time since she'd seen daylight for more than a few seconds. Still, although the weather was nice, she noticed that the streets, while still bustling with people, were different. People rarely stopped to speak to each other and no one looked anywhere but straight ahead, and as a result, the streets were eerily quiet, even with all the activity.

Korra frowned as she approached a market stall. _Is this what Amon's movement has done to the city? How could anyone think this is better than before? Everybody looks scared out of their minds!_

She looked over the goods offered, scanning for items that wouldn't perish too quickly. She didn't have much time; Tenzin had given her an hour to come back before he sent out a search party. Dumping several items into her basket, she took them up to the counter and moved to pay for them without making any eye contact with the stall vendor. Thankfully, this seemed to be the trend nowadays, so her behavior didn't come off as suspicious.

Korra muttered a "thank you" and turned to leave when the vendor's hand shot out to grab her wrist.

"What do you think you're playing at here?" the vendor growled.

"E-excuse me?" Korra said, turning to look at him, and she felt herself panic. _Not now, not now..._

"Are you trying to joke with me? This isn't nearly enough for how much you bought!" the vendor shouted, outraged. People passing by turned to stare.

Korra looked down at the handful of yuans she had left on the table. It was all the cash that Tenzin had given her—there was no way it wasn't enough—

_Now is not the time to argue,_ she told herself. She needed to diffuse the situation before she drew too much attention. "I-I'm sorry," Korra said, trying to avert his gaze and hurriedly setting down the bag of groceries to pull some of them out. "I'll just put some back—"

"I don't want them _back_," the vendor roared, and he shoved the bag to the ground, sending the food flying into the street. "I want the money!"

Korra gritted her teeth as her temper flared. "I don't _have_ the money—"

The vendor raised a fist, and Korra clenched her own, torn between trying to defend herself and exposing her identity...

"Excuse me," she heard suddenly, as someone shoved her aside.

Korra felt her panic dissipate into confusion as she looked over to see what had just happened. A boy with jet black hair and amber eyes who looked to be her age stood where she just had a second prior, staring up at the vendor with one hand on his hip and the other holding out a paper bag.

"Boy," the vendor growled, his fist still raised. "Don't mess with me right now. I'm in the middle of something."

"Yeah? Well, I'm busy, too. I'm in a bit of a hurry here."

The vendor narrowed his eyes. "Do you not see that I'm in the middle of another transaction?"

The boy looked over at Korra and then at the food in the street, and he raised one unimpressed eyebrow. "If it's that important to you, I'll pay for it."

Korra stood glued to her spot, speechless. What was happening?

"You what?" the vendor said.

"I'll pay for hers, too. Like I said, I'm in a hurry, so could you quit staring and ring me up?"

The vendor sneered at him, but he snatched the bag from the boy and rang it up. "That'll be two hundred yuans."

The boy balked. "What? That's outrageous!"

"Insurance, boy."

The boy glared up at the vendor, and then he slapped some money down on the counter. "No."

And with that, he snatched up the bag, grabbed Korra's hand, and ran from the stall.

Korra's eyes widened as she felt her legs move to keep up with him. "Hey, what are you doing?" she shouted at him.

"If you want that guy to kill you, be my guest and stick around," the boy shouted back.

Korra looked behind them, and sure enough, the vendor was chasing them down, shouting profanities at them as he pushed people out of the way and brandished a knife in his hand.

Korra gulped and ran faster to keep up, holding one hand to her hair to make sure her wig didn't go flying off. Now would most certainly be the worst time to get caught.

The two of them ran until her legs burned, all the way out to the outskirts of town. Korra vaguely registered that she was dangerously far from her encampment now, but she would worry about that later. They had reached the industrial complex of the town by the sea, where scarcely anyone was. The vendor was nowhere to be seen.

They leaned against the railing of the sidewalk, catching their breaths. After the stitch in Korra's side faded some, she held out her hand.

"Thank you," she panted.

The boy shook it. "I'd say it wasn't a problem, but... It was kind of a problem."

Korra glared. "Well, look, I didn't _ask_ you to help me—what, do you have a hero complex or something?"

The boy held up his hands. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." He let out a few more heaving breaths before he shook his head and slid down to the ground, leaning his back against the railing. "Geez. Learn to take a joke. It's fine, you're welcome."

Korra stared at him for a moment, her lips pursed, before she gave a resigned sigh and sat down beside him. She cringed at the thought of having to go back empty-handed.

"Dumpling?" the boy said, and he took one out of the paper bag and held it out for her.

"Oh, uh—yeah, thanks," Korra said in surprise, taking it from him.

"I got these for my brother, but after all the trouble I just went through, I feel kind of entitled to eat them," he said with his mouth full. "I'm Mako, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. I'm K—" Korra caught herself. "Kana."

"You aren't from around here, are you?"

Korra turned her head to the side quickly, remembering only then that her eyes were still the vivid blue of the Southern Water Tribe. She would have to be careful. "What makes you say that?"

"You paid about half of what the normal food price is here. Things have changed. Times have gotten hard—prices around the city are way higher than they were before." Mako said. "And you went to the stingiest, most violent vendor in Republic City. Two hundred yuans, what a joke. I paid him as much as it should have cost to cover you and me, and he still came after us with a knife."

Korra frowned. "Well, why did you try to buy food from him, if you knew that he was so stingy?"

Mako shrugged. "It looked like you needed some help."

"Thank you," Korra said with a slight incline of her head. As she picked apart her dumpling and ate it, she couldn't decide whether Mako was crazy or just a nice person. He seemed sane enough—but his kind act was made all the stranger by its contrast with the tight-lipped, suffocated environment of the city streets. Speaking of which...

"So... Earlier, you mentioned that times have gotten hard? What exactly does that mean?"

Mako raised a brow. "You really aren't from around here, huh? We're in the middle of a war."

"A war?" Korra tried to feign surprise.

Mako nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't heard about it. Between Equalists and benders. Amon's power is on the rise, and the Avatar is on the run. But... I guess, since it's not over yet, people are a little freaked out."

"What about you?" Korra asked tentatively.

"What about me?"

"Are you..." _Are you an Equalist, too?_ "Are you freaked out?"

Mako kept his vision trained ahead of him, but he shook his head. "Not really. I grew up on the streets—things have always been a little hard for Bolin and me. So none of this is really new."

"Bolin?"

"My little brother."

"Ah." Korra was silent for a while, taking all of that in. If they were on the streets, and he only mentioned his brother, something must have happened to his parents. He couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than she was. She couldn't imagine the hardship he must have endured. "Well... I am sorry."

Mako shrugged. "That's how life is."

Korra looked over at him. She couldn't keep from asking. "And are you... Are you an Equalist now?"

Mako finally looked back at her, golden eyes suddenly a little bit wider. Was that surprise in his expression? Was he...?

Korra stared back, stomach churning. For some reason—even when she had no ties to this boy—she didn't want it to be true.

"No."

"No?"

Mako shook his head. "No, I'm not."

"Well, then, are you a bender?"

"No."

Korra frowned, perplexed. "Then, what are you?"

Mako sighed in exasperation. "Is it all that black-and-white to you? I have to be one or the other? I'm not anything." He reached up absentmindedly to touch the red scarf around his neck. "I'm just trying to survive."

Korra felt a rush of shame—her lack of a filter had gotten her in trouble yet again. "I'm sorry. Sometimes, I don't think before I speak."

"Yeah, well, there could be worse things about you," Mako said, and the corner of his mouth lifted a little.

"Uh... Thanks, I think," Korra said, and then she couldn't help but smile. "You're not very good with words, either, are you?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who—" Mako stopped himself, and then he chuckled. "I guess I'm not. Bo is always getting on to me for that, too."

"So, where's your brother now? It sounds like you two are really close."

Mako looked at the half-empty bag of dumplings, and Korra could have sworn she saw his expression darken for a moment. "He's...at work." He looked up to see Korra staring at him quizzically, and he quickly rearranged his expression. "Sorry. It's a dangerous job. I don't like him doing it is all."

"Have you tried to talk him into doing anything else?"

"It's kind of complicated. It's a job he's had for a long time, so it's not like he can walk away and quit that easily. And I work there, too, so it'd be even harder for him. He wouldn't want to leave without me."

Korra frowned. Whatever Mako was describing sounded stressful; it almost sounded like he was in trouble. The more she spoke to him, the more she came to understand how lucky she was, even now, to have her makeshift family waiting and worrying for her. She almost wanted to reach out to him and help him, too—after all, she was the Avatar, wasn't that her job?

"Well, that's enough about me," Mako said. "What about you?"

"Ah... What about me?" Korra said, remembering frantically that she was not supposed to be herself. She hadn't thought she'd need a backstory for a simple hour-long outing.

_Oh, man. It's been way over an hour, hasn't it? Tenzin's going to kill me!_

"Actually," Korra said, standing up and dusting herself off, "I think I need to go. My, uh—my parents are waiting for me to...to come home with groceries, and I need to go back to the market—"

"Oh, okay," Mako said. He frowned but he stood up as well and held out a hand. "It was nice to meet you, Kana."

Korra shook it absentmindedly, already trying to figure out the fastest way to get home in her head. "Yeah, you, too..." She met his eyes then, and something about them made her pause. Although everything else about him said that he was fine and very good at being independent, something about the way he held her gaze said the opposite. Korra remembered how lonely she'd been in her first few days in Republic City. Maybe he could use a friend. She couldn't promise to see him again, but... "Look, maybe... If you're ever around, I..."

"_THERE THEY ARE!_"

Korra and Mako swung their heads around to look at the source of the voice, and much to Korra's dismay, she saw that the stall vendor had found them—and he had company. Several large men were behind him; they looked similar to the thugs Korra had encountered when she'd first arrived in the city, but she knew that they were not benders. Amon had disbanded most of the bending gangs with the promise of peace and social justice months ago.

"_YOU DIRTY LITTLE THIEVES!_" the vendor roared, and he came at them with surprising speed.

"RUN!" Korra shouted, and she took off with Mako behind her, frantically looking around for a means of escape. She looked behind them, and she knew there was no way they'd be able to outrun all these men. Attacking them could make things even messier, and if Mako didn't know how to fight, it would be difficult to protect him while also fighting them off. But all that lay before her was flat land and grey factories—there was nowhere to go.

_Unless_...

She looked over to the sea beside them, and cringed at what knew she would have to do before she looked at Mako, who was now running beside her. "We've got nowhere to go except into the water!"

Mako balked. "Are you _crazy_?"

"There's no way we're going to escape them, but I can help us if we can get into the water!" Korra shouted. "Please, trust me!"

Mako held her gaze for a moment, set his mouth firmly, and nodded. "Okay."

Shutting her eyes, she grabbed Mako's hand and hopped the railing as she drew up a column of water. They plunged in feetfirst and fell deep into the bay, and Korra bended the column around them into a bubble of air. As rapidly as she could, she propelled them towards the shore of Aang Memorial Island, and in minutes, they had managed to pull their way ashore. Korra could only pray that no Equalist guards had seen them; she had no time to fight them. This whole situation was only becoming messier and messier, and she needed desperately to get home before Tenzin blew their cover to come out and look for her.

They lay on the shore gasping for air in silence for several moments, and when Mako finally sat up and looked over at Korra, his chest still heaving, she knew what was coming. She'd lost the wig and her scar in the water, and he had just seen her waterbend...

"You're the Avatar," he managed to gasp out, his voice awed.

* * *

Part Three Preview:

_"I'm a complete and total stranger. I could have been feeding you lies all along." Mako's face was blank, his angular features perfectly calm even as more and more ludicrous words spilled out of his mouth. "You lied to me about who you were… What if I'm not telling you the truth about who I am, either?"_

_Korra was speechless. Somehow, the alarm that rushed through her was more intense than any night she'd snuck out to fight the Equalists. _

_"You could kill me right here, you know," Mako continued, leaning in closer to her. His voice had an eerily hard edge to it; Korra felt herself back up. "No one would ever know. Your secret would die with me."_

* * *

Thank you all for the sweet reviews and subscriptions! You really have made me feel so happy to have written this story ;_; Part three should be up sometime tomorrow, as it's already written. Thanks again, and please leave me a review! I'd love you forever!

Love,

boreum dal


	3. Part Three

**Rules**

"_This blood keeps me alive, but what is it that runs through you?"_

Part Three

Mako let out something that sounded like a strangled laugh. "You're the Avatar." He sat back on his hands and looked at the water before them, his eyes wide. "You're the _Avatar_," he muttered.

Korra sat up as well, unsure of what to say. "Um... No, I'm not?" she tried in between breaths.

Mako glanced at her with one eyebrow raised. "You've got paint smeared on your cheek."

Korra's hand shot up to her face to wipe off the fake scar as she felt a blush creep up her neck. "Look, there's an explanation for all of this—"

"Yeah, that you're the Avatar. Korra, right?"

Korra bit her lip. "No?" she said feebly.

"I just saw you waterbend us out to safety. You were wearing a disguise, and you look exactly like the Avatar. There are posters of you all over the city. What else would you be hiding?"

"I—" Korra saw the certainty in Mako's eyes and knew then there was nothing she could say or do to convince him otherwise. She let out a defeated sigh. "Yes, I'm the Avatar," she muttered. "I suppose there's no point in asking you to keep this a secret?" she asked him.

She watched as he processed this. He had known as soon as they had plunged themselves into the water, but something about her confirmation appeared to have made him fully realize it. A crease formed between his brows as he suddenly seemed to lose himself in his thoughts—it was a look similar to the one he wore when he spoke of his brother's job, Korra thought. "Wow," he breathed.

_It's over. It's all over—once one person knows, the whole city will know..._ Korra thought hopelessly about her team underground. What would become of them? For a moment, she seriously entertained the thought of incapacitating him, quietly ending his life or perhaps taking him back with her as a hostage so that word would never get out. But he had a brother, he'd said... What would happen to him?

Mako let out a long exhale and stood up on the rocky outcropping, holding his hand out to her to help her up as well. Bewildered by his lack of a response, Korra tentatively took his hand and stood up, too.

"Look," he said, crossing his arms. "I'd get if you didn't trust me... But I'm not going to tell anyone."

Korra gaped at him. "What?"

He sighed and shut his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's none of my business. It'd be a lot of trouble to get involved in any of this... I'd prefer if no one knew that I saw you, either."

For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, Korra felt relief so powerful that it nearly hurt. "Please tell me you're not joking."

Mako shrugged. "Why would I be joking about that? I've got no reason to lie to you."

Korra threw her arms around Mako in gratitude, making him stumble backward. "Thank you so much!"

"Whoa—uh, I guess it's no problem," Mako mumbled.

Quickly, she pulled back, embarrassed by the reflex reaction. "Sorry." She inclined her head. "I'm just so relieved. I really, really owe you. For everything today."

Mako shook his head. "I don't need anything."

Korra looked out towards the mainland. "Not even a ride back?"

Mako followed her gaze, and the corners of his lips tilted up. "I think I'll be able to make it back on my own. That was a pretty cool trick you pulled, though. Thanks for saving my neck."

"It was the least I could do. We were both in trouble there."

"So, what are you doing here, anyway, when you're supposed to be on the run?" Mako asked, kicking a pebble off of the outcropping and into the waves.

"'_Supposed to be on the run'_?" Korra said incredulously. "I'm _supposed_ to protect the city!"

Mako looked unimpressed with her response. "Then where have you been?"

Korra glanced off to the side, irritated and ashamed. "This kind of thing takes patience," she said, echoing Tenzin's words to her when they had first evacuated the island. She turned back towards him then, eyes hard with conviction. "But I _will _come back."

Mako gazed at her, expression unreadable. "I'm sure you will. But are you sure you can take on Amon when you can't even fight a street thug?"

"Hey, I was at a complete disadvantage there! I was trying not to blow my cover—" Korra paused as an unsettling thought struck her. "You don't think they'll come after _you_, do you?"

"I don't think you need to worry about me," he said, and Korra wondered if she'd imagined the amusement that tinted his voice as he said this.

Korra watched him, the breeze of the bay blowing his hair and his scarf back as he stood with his eyes fixated on the cityscape. Even though he had told her so much about himself in that little amount of time they'd spent together, he was an utter enigma. She had the distinct impression that there was far more to him than he was letting on.

"So, Avatar Korra," he said, turning to her. "Will I see you again?"

Korra fidgeted, unsure of how to respond. _Yes._ She wanted to say yes. It had been so frustrating and stressful and _exhausting_ being underground and coming out only at night, only to fight and worry about her team—her only family, for now—being taken from her. For the short time she had been up here with Mako, she had forgotten, albeit briefly, that she was the Avatar, that the world needed her to survive and succeed. Korra held her hands behind her back and found herself gazing at the ground. "I... I'm not sure." She looked back up at him and pursed her lips. "I'm not really supposed to be around here."

"And you trust me not to tell your secret?"

"Honestly... I don't know. But what choice do I have?"

"What if I were the enemy?" His eyes were on her now, intense and unrelenting. He suddenly looked like a different person.

Korra gasped. _There's no way—_

"I'm a complete and total stranger. I could have been feeding you lies all along." Mako's face was blank, his angular features perfectly calm even as more and more ludicrous words spilled out of his mouth. "You lied to me about who you were... What if I'm not telling you the truth about who I am, either?"

Korra was speechless. Somehow, the alarm that rushed through her was more intense than any night she'd snuck out to fight the Equalists.

"You could kill me right here, you know," Mako continued, leaning in closer to her. His voice had an eerily hard edge to it; Korra felt herself back up. "No one would ever know. Your secret would die with me."

It was as though he'd read her mind. But of all of the frantic thoughts that were going through her head at that moment, the one that came spilling out of her lips was the same counterthought she'd had to that very idea. "But you—you said you had a brother," she said weakly, and she wished her voice came out stronger. She had faced Amon several times and had always held her ground. What was so menacing about this non-bending boy who suddenly liked to talk big? She tried again. "You said he's counting on you. I couldn't take that away from him."

All of a sudden, the glint in Mako's eye was gone, and the lines of his face softened. "And you believe this?"

"Yes," Korra whispered. She thought about Asami's face when she spoke of her father, of Lin's whenever Toph Beifong came up in a conversation. "There's no faking that kind of feeling."

A long moment passed where all that moved was the sea, and then Mako smiled ever so slightly. Before Korra could decipher his response, he looked up at the peak of the island by the feet of Aang's statue. "It looks like we might have some unwanted company if we don't leave soon."

"Oh, right," Korra said, snapping out of her daze. "Uh—well... I guess this is goodbye." She waded out into the water and turned around one more time to see him standing there with one hand in his pocket, watching her and making no move to escape. Still, she had no time to concern herself with him. If any Equalist guards saw her, she was as good as dead. "Thank you, Mako."

"See you around, Avatar Korra."

She submerged herself into the water and made her way home.

* * *

"Korra!" Tenzin came over and held Korra by the shoulders. "Where have you been? It's been two and a half hours—I was about to send out a search party!"

Korra felt relief that Tenzin had been bluffing when he'd given her a one-hour limit earlier in the day. "I'm sorry," she said, suddenly ashamed. "I, uh—I got into some trouble, and—"

"What happened?"

"The vendor I tried to buy food from got angry at me because I didn't have enough money. He came after me, and I had to shake him off. I'm sorry I didn't bring back any food," she added ruefully.

Tenzin sighed. "That's quite all right, I'm just glad you're safe. Did anyone see you?"

"No," Korra said, but then she made an addendum so she wasn't telling a complete lie. "Not anyone important." _I don't think._

Tenzin nodded. "Okay. Well, go wash up. Pema will be making dinner. I am interested to hear about how Republic City is faring—you'll have to tell us all about it."

"I will," Korra said. It would be important to mention the tense atmosphere of the streets and the new forms of social inequality that had risen since Amon had gained power—perhaps that was information they would later be able to use to their advantage.

Korra headed off to find the others, wondering all the while what to make of this Mako—the only person in Republic City, aside from Amon and his henchmen, to know that the Avatar was alive and well and coming back with a vengeance.

* * *

Thank you again, everyone, for your sweet reviews and favorites and subscriptions! I'm honestly so happy that people like this fic. I haven't written out much of part four yet, so there's no preview this time, but it should be up within the week, I promise! I love you guys. Please leave a review on your way out!

Love,

boreum dal


	4. Part Four

**Rules**

"_Electricity and wires dictating everything you do..._"

Part Four

Mako flexed the electric glove around his fist uncomfortably. He rarely used these kinds of weapons, preferring to fight with his hands and feet, but the glove was more outwardly intimidating. He sat atop the roof of a house, waiting. It had gotten dark, and the markets had closed for the day. Any moment now, he would come...

_There._

He slipped his mask on before he somersaulted off of the roof and landed in a crouch on the balls of his feet, placing a hand to the ground to steady himself. He stood with ease, and the man before him jumped back, eyes wide.

"Who—"

"You saw something today that you weren't supposed to see," Mako said evenly.

"What—what are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Mako made several steps towards the burly street vendor, who, despite the advantage he held over Mako in size, cowered backward.

"No, I don't!" the man shouted, and he looked around the deserted streets. "Help—someone help!"

"You didn't seem so helpless when you chased two kids around the city with a knife today."

The man's eyes grew wider, and he stumbled backward and landed on his hands. "You—you saw? The waterbending girl?"

_So he didn't realize she was the Avatar._ Mako nearly snorted. _What an idiot._

Still, he could never be too careful. His brief contact with the Avatar was an inconvenience, something that would only complicate his job and his life if anyone—including Amon—found out. After all, he had not captured her; there was no point, then, in anyone knowing.

"I can't have you running around and telling people what you saw. It'd only make trouble for me, you see..." Mako charged the glove on his right hand. The electric current crackled through it, illuminating the fear on the man's face.

"Please!" the man shouted, on his knees now with his hands raised. "Don't hurt me! I won't tell anyone, I swear! I swear!"

Mako held the glove precariously over the man's head, electricity still running. "If you tell a soul, I'll find out, and I _will_ come after you."

"I won't—I won't!"

Satisfied, Mako relaxed his hand, silencing the glove, and he began to walk away. The man fell over in relief behind him.

He paused, sensing the man's eyes on him. He turned his head slightly to the side. "I'm always watching."

And as quickly as he'd come, he was gone.

* * *

"Mako, you're late."

"I'm sorry. I got sidetracked on the way here," Mako said, dipping his head low into a bow.

"Oh?"

"Personal business," Mako responded simply. His eyes remained trained on the floor.

Amon turned toward him, hands clasped behind his back and his head cocked to the side. With the mask concealing his face, it was the only gesture that indicated curiosity. There was a long pause. "Don't do it again."

"Yes, sir." Mako was relieved, but he had suspected that Amon wouldn't pry; after all that Mako had contributed to Amon's cause, he had earned a certain degree of trust that allowed him privacy not granted to lower subordinates.

"The Avatar and her team will make an appearance tonight."

Mako raised his head, eyeing the mask. Although he thought immediately about having seen the Avatar today, his face betrayed no emotion; years under Amon's guidance had trained him well.

"I believe they are planning to break into one of Sato's hidden warehouses to destroy equipment. The Lieutenant will brief you shortly. Stop them at all costs. If you subdue any, bring them back alive."

"Yes, sir."

Amon turned his back to Mako once more, eyeing the map of the nations tacked onto his wall. "Your brother will be going with you."

Mako tensed. He was happy to have Bolin under his watch, but fighting the Avatar's team head on had been no joke, especially with an experienced airbender and the former chief of the metalbending police on their side. Sato's daughter had also proven herself to be a formidable fighter when she managed to knock out two of his teammates and escape with a hostage the previous evening. And of course, there was the Avatar herself. She had been the most challenging opponent he'd ever faced, and that was saying something.

Bolin was a skilled and tough fighter by all means, but growing up with him in this environment had taught Mako that his younger brother often did not have it in him to finish the job. To him, mercy often overtook justice, and his opponents got away with more than most. As a brother, Mako saw this as a virtue; as an Equalist, he saw this as a weakness.

"Your silence tells me that you're troubled by this," Amon said without turning around.

Mako hesitated before speaking, but he steeled himself. "Sir... I would like if Bolin could sit this one out."

"He's a talented soldier, Mako."

"Yes, but—"

"The hardest battles teach the most important lessons. He needs more experience. And then, one day soon, he will become like you."

Mako knew there was no arguing. He furrowed his brow, but he lowered his head. "Sir."

"That will be all. Report back in two hours with your brother for the briefing. The Lieutenant is assembling a team now."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Bolin?"

"Hey! You're home kinda late," Bolin said, rising off the couch. Pabu skittered over to Mako, who bent low to the ground and held out an arm so the fire ferret could climb onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I had some business to take care of." Mako held up the white bag that held the dumplings he'd bought hours ago. For some reason, it felt like days. He had decided not to tell Bolin, either; this was a secret that was easier to handle when fewer people knew of it. "Bought you some dumplings. They're kind of cold, though."

"Thanks!" Bolin took the bag and promptly stuffed a dumpling in his mouth. "You know, these are pretty good cold, too," he said, food crumbs flying out of his mouth.

"Amon has a mission for us tonight."

"_Us_?" Bolin said, swallowing. His surprise was quite clear; Mako was regularly assigned to dangerous missions, and as a lower-ranking soldier, Bolin rarely got to go on one with his brother.

"Yeah. The Avatar's on the move again. We're going to stop her. We need to be back at headquarters in two hours for the briefing, so rest up while you can," Mako said as he headed to his room.

Bolin grinned. "I get to go on a mission with you?"

Mako paused. "Bo... Be careful. I mean it."

Bolin caught Mako's glance, and his brow furrowed as a look of shame spread across his face. "I will."

* * *

Mako trudged up the stairs to the bedroom of the loft he had come to call home. Prior to the Equalist movement, he and Bolin had lived above the attic of the pro-bending arena, but that became far too risky and inappropriate once they had joined Amon's forces. Fortunately, by this point, Mako had seen enough of the streets to know of several abandoned warehouses and factories around the city—remnants of the overzealous wave of the Industrial Revolution that had overtaken Republic City decades prior—and it had not been too difficult to relocate to one.

Mako lay back on his bed, raising a hand above his head and staring at it against the dim light. Like the rest of the city, the brothers had had to face many difficult changes since the Equalist revolution began. Being on Amon's side had meant being on the winning side, but it had not necessarily always meant profit; in fact, many times, they'd had to sustain big losses to further the movement as a whole. Sacrifices were necessary, they had learned, especially in the beginning.

But that had been okay, Mako thought, because he was used to loss and sacrifice. He had lost his parents when he was eight, and after that, his life had never been the same, for he had become Bolin's parent as well as his brother, and he'd also had to raise himself in the process. Loss and sacrifice were so familiar to him that he sometimes thought of them as companions.

Besides, being an Equalist, especially one so close to Amon, had been rewarding overall. When Mako had signed on, Amon had promised them better lives, and for the most part, he had delivered. Although Mako did not know where Amon got the funds to pay any of his subordinates, the Equalist leader provided the brothers with a decent stipend—one that paid far more than the thankless job he'd had at a factory before the movement. And although the mask and Amon's mysterious and impersonal demeanor often caused Mako to forget that the man was even a human being, Amon had occasionally stepped in to be a protective, nearly fatherly figure for the two of them.

But there were times when he was ruthless as well, and the loss and sacrifice came to be too much. Amon believed in sacrificing anything for the movement; he had once said that, so long as he had loyal believers to follow him and complete his job, he would even sacrifice himself for the cause. But there was one thing that Mako would never be willing to lose—not for the movement or even for his own life.

Just two months ago, Bolin had sustained a heavy injury in a fight with one of the few remaining bending gangs in the city, the only other high-ranking mission on which Bolin had ever accompanied Mako. The horror that Mako had experienced as he'd tried to suppress the free-flowing blood from the wound was something he never wanted to experience again.

"_Bo,"_ _Mako said desperately as he tore off his mask and kneeled over his brother. "Bolin, hang on!"_

_Bolin looked up at Mako with fearful eyes, coughing and twitching slightly as he pressed a hand to the gaping wound over his left ribcage. _

"_Bo, the medics are on their way," Mako said. He tore the neck of his Equalist uniform off and pressed it to the wound. He tried not to let the panic show in his voice. Bolin had to hang on. If he lost Bolin—_

"_Those damned Agni Kais are going to pay," Mako growled. As soon as the medics arrived and took care of his brother, he was going to hunt them down one by one and make them regret the moment they'd ever laid a hand on Bolin. Bringing them to Amon to have their bending removed would not be enough. Mako wanted to take them down himself. _

"_Mako." Bolin's voice shook. "Not worth it."_

_For the first time in years, Mako felt tears rise to his eyes as he looked down at his brother. Images from the day he had lost his parents—a day he had not allowed himself to recall in quite some time—flooded his brain. He tried to find words, but his throat was constricted. "I—"_

"_What happened?" an Equalist medic boomed as he rushed down beside Mako to assess the damage. _

_Mako cleared his throat. "Agni Kais. Bolin had them, and then one got him from behind and lightningbended him."_

_The medic took the makeshift compress off of Bolin's wound and winced. "It looks bad."_

"_Will he—will he..." Mako couldn't finish; he was too terrified to ask._

"_Don't worry. It'll take some time, but I think he'll be fine. We got here just in time."_

_Mako had never felt more hope than he had in that one moment. It rapidly turned into anger as he stood. "Please take care of him. I'm going after them."_

_The medic nodded. _

"_Thank you." With that, he ran as fast as he could to find the men who had hurt his brother._

Had the medic not come when he had, Bolin would have died from blood loss. Mako had never felt such blind rage in his life as he had in that moment. He tracked down the three Agni Kais and killed them all within the hour. When he reported back to Amon, he had expected punishment for not bringing them back alive as Bolin had been told to do. Surprisingly, Amon did not admonish him for his actions at all, calling Mako's reaction "understandable." Mako also withheld details of the mission from Amon: Bolin had really sustained that injury because, in the last few moments of the fight, he had seen the fear in his enemy's eyes. He had put down his weapon and moved only to subdue the gangster, who took advantage and quickly reversed the situation. Somehow, though, Mako felt that Amon had known. And when he let Mako go home for the evening, he had left him with a warning that had disturbed Mako to his core.

"_It is loss that propels the movement, Mako. A true Equalist accepts this. Never forget it."_

* * *

"You okay, Bo?" Mako asked as they sat in the back of a Satomobile headed towards one of Hiroshi Sato's secret compounds. An Equalist operative had just confirmed that the Avatar had arrived, and that her team was making quick work of the equipment inside.

"Yeah," Bolin murmured softly. "Are you?"

The car stopped, and two Equalists hopped out and opened the back door of the car.

"I'm fine." Mako hopped out, Bolin following suit. He turned toward his brother. "Look. If you need help for any reason, just holler—these guys are really tough."

Bolin nodded. "I'll be careful. And I'm sorry about last time."

Mako swallowed, and then he rubbed Bolin's hair, a gesture he used to do often when they were children. "It's okay. Just don't let me lose you."

"You, too."

They slipped on their masks and kicked open the door to the compound, and as the team of Equalists and Bolin swarmed the building, Mako strode in through the quickly developing chaos and headed towards the airbender and Sato's daughter, who had teamed up to fend off several soldiers.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of fire headed his way, and in the last moment, he ducked and spun around.

The Avatar stood before him, glaring at him with those same icy blue eyes he'd seen earlier in the day. "Leave them alone," she gritted out. "Pick on someone your own size."

Since Bolin's injury and Amon's warning, Mako was left with many questions to which he could not seem to find an answer. Mercy over justice—that was Bolin's way. Although Mako had raised Bolin, he had always admired his brother's morals. Bolin had only agreed to join the Equalist movement because they believed that Amon had a point and a plan. The recent, more violent developments had shaken Bolin, Mako saw, and although he thought Bolin foolish for letting it affect him so, when Bolin had been hurt, Mako had finally come to see from his brother's perspective. At what point did it become too much? Were they going too far?

The Avatar—Korra—had seemed like a good person. Her integrity had reminded him so much of Bolin that it had shocked him into inaction. As an Equalist, Mako should have captured her immediately and brought her to Amon. He had told her that he was not an Equalist, but he had also told her that he was not a bender. But she had saved him—and then, when he had tried to provoke her, to test her, she had passed. _You have a brother_, she'd said. Bender or not, she had approached him as a human and honored his priorities. At the risk of being found out, she had let him go.

Mako watched as she wielded fire in both of her hands and came at him, and he clenched his jaw, blinked once, and forced himself to erase the thoughts.

He flexed his hands wordlessly, and he charged at the Avatar without another question.

* * *

So, this story is turning out to be quite a bit longer than I had originally planned. The plot just keeps getting bigger and bigger because I find myself constantly wanting to add more dimension to it. Still, it's not going to be a thirty-chapter thing, I don't think, so there's that.

Anyway, this part is told from Mako's perspective, because there is a lot I'd like to cover—his motives and his character are probably a bit more complicated than Korra's more straightforward storyline, so the whole story can't be told from her side. On occasion, I think we'll be switching back and forth between the two.

I kind of struggled with adding the detail about Mako killing the Agni Kais, but I honestly think anyone in his situation with his personality would. Because _Korra_is ultimately a kids' cartoon, I can see why the creators are reluctant to add the issue of killing the enemy in the story. But realistically, I do think that both sides would probably sustain heavy losses if an all-out war broke out. Thoughts on that?

Thank you to everyone who's been following this, favoriting and subscribing and reviewing. Some of the things you guys say to me in your reviews are honestly the nicest things I've ever heard, because my writing is really important to me and I tend to value compliments on my writing as the highest kind of compliment. XD And an extra thank you to those of you who like/reblog/read this on tumblr and _still_ come here to review this story-you are awesome.

Love,

boreum dal


	5. Part Five

**Rules**

"_No iron in your veins to give you any sense of pain or fear..."_

Part Five

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Mako dodged and ducked the Avatar's flame-laden punches. With quick eyes and quicker reflexes, Mako was often able to discern movements in a fight and retaliate in a way that few other fighters ever could.

He had been in a street fight when he was nine, fending off other urchins who had wanted to take the loaf of bread that he and Bolin had managed to steal, when a trainer passing by had pulled him aside and taken him in to give him real sparring lessons. When the trainer was finally able to understand just how swift Mako's eyes were, he told Mako that his speed was a rare gift and honed it to its highest potential.

But the Avatar was swifter than anyone Mako had ever faced, and it was proving to be a challenge for him to keep up. He bent backward as she lunged forward at him with her fist and took advantage of the split-second opening she'd left, pushing his feet out to kick her squarely in the chin as he flipped back onto his hands and again onto his feet.

But she was up just as quickly as she'd fallen, and with a roar of fury, she raised the earth beneath him and sent him flying.

Mako somersaulted through the air and landed on the balls of his feet and one hand, and he sprung up immediately to charge at her once more. She ran towards him fearlessly as well, blasting fire at him that he dodged with ease. It took mere seconds, but it felt like a lifetime—they were playing chicken with each other, and neither was backing down.

Just as they were about to clash, Mako slid and went for her ankles—a move so sudden that the Avatar did not see it coming—and swept her off of her feet. As she hit the ground, he moved to incapacitate her completely and chi-block her, but she rolled out of the way just in time.

_Damn it!_ Mako propelled himself into a handspring as the Avatar pounded the ground, sending a quake that rippled out so far that several other Equalists around them fell. In the immediate aftermath, the Avatar shot a well-aimed flame straight at his chest, and he felt the breath knocked out of him as he landed on the ground with a _thud_ and skidded several feet backwards. He took a heaving breath and forced himself to move before the Avatar saw another opening.

As he sprang back up on to his feet, Mako took a split second to look around for Bolin, and he let himself feel a moment's relief to see that his brother was holding up quite well against Sato's daughter and the former pro-bender they'd rescued the previous evening.

The fight continued like this, hit-chase-evade-miss, from one side to the other, for many more minutes, until the facility and the equipment were no longer the issue—all of the fighting had destroyed a great deal of it, anyway. Everyone was exhausted, running themselves ragged, and both teams were far more concerned now about their lives than their respective missions.

Mako glanced around again as he dodged another kick from the Avatar and saw that several of his men had fallen, and many had seemed to retreat. While Bolin appeared to be doing fine, Mako could tell that he was beginning to get tired. Still, it also appeared that the Avatar's team was now attempting to incapacitate only as many as it took to retreat safely.

"Korra! We've done what we came to do! Give it up, we've gotta get out of here!" Sato's daughter called out in the midst of the struggle, and she and the former pro-bender were making their way towards the side of a building, where a large whole had been blown into the wall. The airbender fought from another corner, taking on three of Mako's men at once.

The Avatar appeared to ignore her teammate and moved even more aggressively at Mako, who had been reduced to defending himself as he struggled to catch his breath. He had to hand it to her—the Avatar not only had the speed and the skill to match him, but her stamina was also absurdly high.

Mako saw that Bolin was in a similar position; he was now fighting defensively against Lin Beifong with a look of terror on his face that would have been hysterical were the situation not so grave. Mako briefly went on the offensive, jumping down onto his hands and spinning his feet into a kick that sent the Avatar flying back. Before she could recover, Mako jumped in front of Bolin and began sparring with the metalbender.

"Bo, get out of here!" he shouted as he blocked kicks and punches.

"No, I can't leave you!" Bolin shouted back, and he moved to Mako's side to assist him.

"I swear, Bo, if you ever"—Mako paused as he ducked a flying cable that narrowly missed his neck—"chose a _worse_ time to not listen to me"—he drew his leg up and pushed it into a side kick towards Lin Beifong somewhat blindly, exhausted and distracted, and was thus surprised to hear it connect with her chest and send her sprawling to the ground—"I mean it! Get _out_ of here! I'll come home soon, I promise!" Mako pushed Bolin back, raising an arm out in front of his brother's chest and ready to defend him from any more blows.

"But—"

"_BO, NOW!_" Mako roared, turning towards the Avatar, who was now running towards him, fury in her eyes as she saw that he had knocked down one of her teammates.

Mako saw it register on his brother's face that there was no room for arguing. "Be careful, bro!"

"I will," Mako said, putting up his fists as he prepared for the Avatar's attack. "Now, go!"

With a few quick maneuvers, Bolin made it out of the building safely. At the same time, Mako saw that one of his men had managed to electrocute the airbender, successfully distracting Lin Beifong into running over to his rescue.

Mako turned his eyes back on the Avatar and tried to ignore his rapidly growing fatigue. He was exhausted, and if he was not careful, he'd be captured. With no one to interrupt them now, he decided it was time to put an end to this. Mako charged at her once more, more determined than ever, and he felt a last adrenaline rush flood his veins. He dodged the familiar array of elemental moves that she blasted at him before he lunged into the air and dove into a roll behind her. Before she could react, he rolled onto his feet placed a well-aimed roundhouse kick right into her side, stunning her just long enough so he could pull her in by the waist and knock her out.

"_KORRA!_" Mako heard the airbender shout from behind him, and Mako grabbed the now-unconscious Avatar and moved just in time to dodge a powerful wave of air. Drawing all his remaining energy, Mako ran for the exit, carrying the Avatar on his back, and before the injured airbender and metalbender could catch up to him, he disappeared into the familiar darkness of the city to head for Amon's headquarters.

* * *

Mako sat with his legs drawn up to his chest, ankles crossed and arms locked around his knees as he watched the light of the fire dance on the face of the unconscious Avatar. Four hours had passed since their battle in the facility, and he had yet to report back to Amon.

This had not been a part of his plan.

_Mako hurried through the shadows, making his way towards Amon's headquarters with the Avatar on his back. He was so tired that even in the darkness, he could feel his vision blurring and occasionally going black. He needed to get back immediately or risk passing out in the street; in full Equalist gear and with the Avatar as his captive, that was not an ideal situation. _

_She was surprisingly light for someone so strong and built, but then again, she was several inches shorter than him and had been incredibly quick on her feet. Mako glanced to the side to see her head lolling on his shoulder, and he frowned as he saw Bolin's face pop into his mind. It had been gnawing at him since the fight had ended, but he'd been trying to ignore it. It was no use, however. For the first time in his life, he was truly uncertain of whether he should finish the mission, for too much was left unexplained. _

_Once Amon had removed the Avatar's bending, what would come after that? Would he and Bolin get the peaceful, stress-free life that they so longed for, or would Amon have plans for further domination? If that was the case, would Bolin be put at further risk? Mako shuddered to remember Amon's words earlier that evening—that with enough battle experience, Bolin would become "more like him." _

_He didn't want that. As much as it got Bolin into trouble, Mako liked his brother the way he was—kind and quite carefree compared to the battle-hardened fellow Equalists. _

_He knew what his brother would do in this situation. It was far less clear-cut than the Agni Kais or the Triple Threat Triads, gang members who had used their bending for clearly corrupt purposes. And if Bolin could feel merciful enough towards men like that to drop his weapon, he would most likely let the Avatar go, even at the expense of the mission. _

_And as for the Avatar herself... Mako sighed as he stopped in an alley to sort out his thoughts. Well, she certainly didn't appear to be the terrible person, the bane of all non-benders' existence that Amon's campaign so strongly made her out to be. She had seemed rather brash and impulsive, sure, and possibly lacking in certain manners, but if anything, she had seemed extremely concerned for the state of the city, benders and non-benders alike. Even more shocking was that this concern extended to Mako as well; the care she had expressed for Mako's well-being and for his brother's, even when he had attempted to provoke her into attacking, had jarred him. And although she was fierce in battle, much of that fury appeared to come from a protectiveness over her comrades—something with which Mako was quite familiar himself. _

_He saw Amon's mask looming in his mind, his voice echoing as he spoke of loss and sacrifice and gains in the movement. _

_What about the Avatar? Was she so willing to sacrifice anything—_anyone_—for her movement? And what _was_ her movement, anyway? What was she aiming for?_

_Out of nowhere, a steady rain began to fall, drenching him and adding further weight for him to carry. He sighed. It appeared that, as much as he was at a loss for what to do, nature was going to decide for him. _

_Mako glanced around to figure out where exactly he was, and as soon as he could deduce the nearest safe place, he moved quickly, knowing that he would fade soon if he didn't._

And now that he was here, with an unconscious Avatar and a mission to complete and so many unanswered questions and a suddenly very uncertain conscience, he had no idea what would come next.

It appeared that he did not have much time to decide when the Avatar's eyelids suddenly fluttered open. He watched as she registered the situation, her eyes looking up above her, and he could practically see her recall what had happened before she'd been knocked out. With a sudden, startled intake of breath, she looked over at him and sat up simultaneously, and instantly, she sprang to her feet and jumped a few steps back, fists raised defensively.

"You," she snarled. "Where am I?"

Mako stood as well, hands raised with his palms facing outward to show that he was not going to fight. He realized he must have looked much more menacing with the mask on, but he supposed that if he took it off, her reaction would not be much better. "Calm down," he said exasperatedly. "You're safe."

"Don't tell me what to do! Where _am_ I?" she roared, and she blasted the flames of the fire he'd started earlier at him.

Anticipating this, Mako dodged to the side and was in front of her in a flash, closing the gap between them quickly and chi-blocking her before she even realized what was happening. He was thankful that her fatigue and grogginess had worked significantly to his advantage, and she stumbled backward, palm-blasting nothing at him. Just as she began to fall back, he reached out and grabbed her by the waist, and she squirmed in his arms, pushing him away to little avail.

"Get _off_ of me! Who the hell are you? What have you done with everyone else?"

Agitated, Mako grabbed both of her wrists in one hand and pinned her against the stone wall beside them. His face was inches from hers. He wondered if she could see his eyes through the goggles, if she could see who he really was. "Careful, Avatar," he said, his voice low. "You're not in a position to be so demanding right now."

She glared at him with eyes so cold and yet so fiery that, were it possible, could have turned him to stone, and her lip curled in a growl.

"If you'll let me, I'll explain where you are and why you're here," Mako continued. "But if you try anything, I could easily knock you out and take you to Amon. I know you don't want that."

"Try me," the Avatar spat.

"Try you?" Mako laughed mirthlessly. "You're tired and weak, and you're probably still disoriented. You don't have your bending and you won't get it back for hours. What are you going to do?"

Of course, he was bluffing—he was exhausted beyond words—but she didn't need to know that.

Warily, the Avatar's face softened, although her eyes did not, and Mako felt her hands relax in his grip. He let go and moved back a few steps, and when he saw that she was not going to make an attempt to attack him, he sat on the opposite side of the fire and gestured that she do the same.

The Avatar's movements were so unlike her, he thought, as she carefully made her way to sit down across from him. She usually reminded him of a tiger—lithe and sure and ferocious—but now, she looked much more like a startled deer. He wondered if she had looked at Amon with those same angry, fearful eyes in her past encounters with the Equalist leader; for some reason, the thought bothered him.

"You're in a cove off the outskirts of the city by Yue Bay," he began. "Your teammates, as far as I'm concerned, are safe. I left with only you, and everyone else was alive and in one piece, for the most part, when I left. My men were gone by that point."

He saw her shoulders relax somewhat, and he could practically feel the relief that showed in her face. Still, an angry frown marred her features as she pounded the ground with a fist. "Well, what about me? Why the hell am I here?"

Mako hesitated. "I'm supposed to take you to Amon."

The Avatar raised her eyebrows. She had to have known that that was his mission, but she was clearly confused as to why he hadn't followed through with it yet. "So why are we here instead? Is Amon coming here?"

Mako had to laugh at that. "No. Amon doesn't come to those captured. They're brought to him." He paused. "Although, I'm sure he'd be willing to make an exception for you, Avatar."

The Avatar scowled. "How flattering."

"You're here because..." Mako paused. What else could he say? The truth was the least intimidating thing he could give her, but what was the point in trying to intimidate her now, when he'd made it quite clear that he couldn't even take her to his leader? "You're here because I don't know what to do," he said softly.

"What?" The Avatar stared at him for a moment, and then it was her turn to laugh. "You don't know what to do? Am I supposed to feel bad for you?"

"What? No," Mako said, irritated. "You're lucky I was nice enough not to bring you to him—you should be thanking me!"

"_Thanking_ you?" she scoffed. "You've got me held hostage in some cave by the ocean, and I have no idea what you're going to do with me. The day I thank you is the day I die."

"You're good at putting on a front, Avatar."

"Yeah, well, I don't need a mask to do it," she spat.

Mako smirked. "Well-played."

"So, you don't know what to do? It'll be awfully interesting for you to go back without me if you decide to leave me here. I bet your all-powerful leader doesn't want a weak link on his side," the Avatar said, her voice cold and taunting.

Mako bristled at that. A weak link. That's what Amon considered Bolin. Although he knew she was only speaking out of anger, the Avatar was completely right about that. "Don't be so sure I won't take you to him, Avatar. I'm not a weak link."

"Really? Because bringing me here instead, letting all of my teammates go—that seems like a very _un-_Equalist thing to do," the Avatar retorted. "Wouldn't Amon call that weak?"

"I'm _not_ a weak link!" Mako shouted.

"Then what are you, if you can't even finish your mission? What are you fighting for if you don't believe in Amon enough to take me to him?" Korra shouted back.

"_I DON'T KNOW!_" Mako roared, and the fire seemed to blow around violently just at the sound of his voice, although he was sure it was the wind from the bay.

Even the Avatar seemed startled by the sudden outburst, as she leaned back a little and her eyes widened, the hard glare in them momentarily gone.

"I don't know," Mako said more quietly. He stood and paced, suddenly completely unnerved. "I joined the Equalists because Amon had a plan. Firebenders killed my parents when I was a kid, and I've been on my own ever since. I've never had a plan."

The Avatar watched in silence now, clearly stunned at the sudden change in tone. He saw pity on her face and he couldn't tell if it offended him or soothed him.

"But this plan, now... I don't know," he said, and he stopped to look at her. "Is it really the answer? To take away everyone's bending?"

The Avatar stared at him, and then she shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was much softer as well. "No. I can tell you right now that it's not the answer at all."

"That's what I'm starting to wonder about myself," Mako said. He sat down again, resting his head in one hand. "My brother..." he trailed off, unsure of how much he should even reveal to this girl.

But she spoke with a gentle voice, and Mako saw with some surprise that she no longer seemed so angry—rather, she seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say. "Is your brother an Equalist, too?"

Mako was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke. "My brother... My brother has always been that 'weak link.' And as a soldier, I've always kind of thought that, too. But now, I wonder if he's stronger than me."

The Avatar looked around the cove, and she leaned back on her hands. "Your brother would have done what you did tonight."

"Yes," Mako whispered. "He would have risked his life to save you, even if it's against orders. And he'd probably nearly have died in the process. He has a knack for getting into trouble. But... If he got hurt," Mako muttered, more to himself than to the Avatar at this point, "I could never forgive myself. He's all I have left." He looked up at her.

He felt his head spinning now, a mixture of the fatigue and the rush of strange, unidentifiable emotion he felt from explaining away his life's dilemma to a stranger—to the enemy. He sighed. "You're free to go, Avatar. Next time, I might not be so unsure, and you won't be so lucky."

He stared into the fire, expecting to see her get up to leave at any moment—or, perhaps she was planning on attacking him now that he'd left himself open. He was too drained to do anything about it now, he thought resignedly.

"Wait," he heard her say, and he looked up, startled. She wore an expression of intense suspicion, brow furrowed and eyes glimmering with curiosity. "Who... Who are you?"

Mako leaned back a bit, although she did not move towards him. "I can't tell you that."

The Avatar crawled toward him then, around the fire, as though in a trance. "It's just... You remind me of this boy..."

He felt her hand reaching up to remove his mask, and he reached up to grab her wrist before she could do it.

The Avatar stared at him unfazed, no trace of anger or hatred left on her face. She looked at him like he was vulnerable—he supposed he was—and like she wanted to help him. "Please," she whispered, and after a moment's pause, she gently pushed her hand forward. Mako's fingers loosened and fell to his lap.

He felt the cool air of the cove hit his face as the Avatar removed his mask completely, and the first thing he saw was the clear blue of her eyes, wide and full of an emotion he could not place.

* * *

Hi, guys! As always, thank you for the outpouring of support for this story! You really all have been such a wonderful group of readers, I don't even know how to express my thanks enough. Some of these reviews you've been leaving me and/or messaging me are some of the sweetest reviews I've had, and I've been writing here for ten years.

So, this next chapter is also in Mako's point of view, and some pretty big developments occur. I had a really hard time with the pacing and characterization here, so if Mako or Korra are rather OOC here, please forgive me. If it truly bugs you, please message me with your concerns! They might help. I might come back and edit this later. If I do, I'll let you know! (Also, as a side note, this was my first time writing a real action sequence… it was so hard T_T) Thank you again for reading—and please leave a review! I'll try to get around to responding to the reviews I have in a couple of days!

Love,

boreum dal


	6. Part Six

**Rules**

"_You tell me that you hear me and all your memories are real—but how do I know you don't just feel what you've been told to feel?"_

Part Six

Korra watched in stunned silence as the Equalist she'd been mocking and cursing mere seconds earlier paced before her, agitated and distressed and revealing to her far more than she'd ever expected to hear. With just a few words, she had triggered a reaction so strong that his voice seemed to blow the fire around in billowing tendrils. A few embers had even jumped out from the wood towards her.

What had she said that had bothered him so?

She had called him a weak link, something she'd thrown out rashly when she couldn't think of anything else to say in her fury towards him—but it had to have an inkling of truth to it, because otherwise, why would he have reacted so violently?

Her thoughts raged on loudly in her head as the Equalist's voice echoed throughout the cove. Something about him, something about the way he moved and waved his hands around as he spoke, drew her in, fed her curiosity—and then his words kept her there.

"I joined the Equalists because Amon had a plan. Firebenders killed my parents when I was a kid, and I've been on my own ever since. I've never had a plan."

Against her will, Korra felt a pang of pity for him. She'd never known that kind of pain; although she missed them, her own parents were safe and sound in the South Pole. Asami, on the other hand, had lost her mother to a firebender long ago as well. She rarely spoke of it, but Korra understood that the event had also caused Asami to lose her father in a way as well. The unexplained, undiscussed, obvious hurt in Asami's eyes whenever the topic arose was enough to tell Korra just how difficult and painful it was. She imagined the Equalist before her must have felt the same way.

And now, Amon had a plan, he'd said. _I guess it makes sense that the Equalist has a reason to be an Equalist. He just wants to protect himself._

Still, Korra thought, steeling herself again, Asami had borne the same pain, and she hadn't given in to the Equalist movement.

"But this plan, now..." His voice was quiet, unsure, and again, some of her anger dissipated. "I don't know."

He stopped pacing and looked over at her.

"Is it really the answer?" he wondered aloud. "To take away everyone's bending?"

Korra stared in awe. An Equalist more skilled than any she'd ever fought before—and yet he was the most ambivalent one she'd ever met. Was it possible? For the first time, inexplicably, she wondered what he looked like underneath the mask.

He had asked her a question, she realized. How would she even begin to answer a question like that?

She swallowed. "No. I can tell you right now that it's not the answer at all."

"That's what I'm starting to wonder about myself," the Equalist muttered, and he sat down, shoulders slumped. He seemed very tired.

Korra waited a moment, wondering if he'd say anything else. He wasn't stupid; he had to know that he was putting his job and his life on the line by revealing so much to her. And yet, Korra waited with bated breath, hoping that he would tell her more—not because she wanted to use it against him, but because she was genuinely curious, wondering what drove him, what drove this startling uncertainty.

And sure enough, he spoke, although he caught himself after two words and appeared to wonder how much more he should tell her, after all. "My brother..."

But it was enough of an explanation for Korra. He had a brother. And perhaps he was involved...

Korra was reminded of the boy she'd met in the city—Mako. He'd had a brother, too. She wondered if this Equalist was as good to his brother as she presumed Mako to be to his.

There was a long pause where the Equalist continued not to speak. Korra bit her lip, and then she urged herself to speak, to let him know that he could say more. "Is your brother an Equalist, too?"

He remained silent for some time, and just as Korra wondered if he'd just choose to end it here, he lifted his head and spoke again. "My brother... My brother has always been that 'weak link.' As a soldier, I've always kind of thought that, too." He lowered his head again, and Korra was certain he was staring at his hands, which were stretched out before him. "But now, I wonder if he's stronger than me."

Somehow, Korra knew immediately. The mingling of wonderment and exasperation in his voice said it all. She leaned back on her hands and gazed at the ceiling of the cove for a moment before staring into the fire and making a statement, as opposed to asking a question: "Your brother would have done what you did tonight."

"Yes," the Equalist whispered. And then, it was as though she'd opened the floodgates. "He would have risked his life to save you, even if it's against orders. And he'd probably nearly have died in the process. He has a knack for getting in trouble," the Equalist muttered, fondness and vexation coloring his tone all at once. "But...if he got hurt, I could never forgive myself. He's all I have left."

Korra stared back, speechless. The Equalist was, underneath that suit and that mask, completely real—utterly human. The fact had never seemed clearer to her in her life. And strangely enough, the image of Mako came floating back into her mind's eye, as his own tone of voice when regarding _his_ brother had been nearly identical. She recalled the job that Mako had said he and Bolin both had to do, the one he'd much rather have done only on his own because his younger brother could get hurt...

The Equalist offered her permission to leave and tacked on an empty threat at the end, but his words did not quite register with her as she felt the certainty rise in the pit of her stomach. Somehow, she was almost positive...

"Wait," she found herself saying. He looked up at her, and even beneath the mask, she could see that he had suddenly tensed up. "Who... Who are you?"

He scooted back ever so slightly. "I can't tell you that."

His defensiveness would have ordinarily been enough to stop Korra, but she was entranced now, possessed by her curiosity and certainty. She crawled around the fire, closer and closer towards him. He seemed as ensnared as she was—for suddenly, he wasn't moving back anymore, either.

"It's just... You remind me of this boy..." she found herself saying as she drew closer, and when she was close enough to touch him, she stretched her hand out towards his face, suddenly itching to remove the mask.

His hand wrapped around her wrist just then, stopping her before she could go any further. But Korra felt no force in his touch, and she felt the overwhelming need to see him, to know him—and maybe even to _help _him, spirits forbid—rise up inside of her.

"Please," she whispered, and after the briefest moment of waiting—to see if she would falter, to see if he would fight back—she pushed her hand forward, and his own hand fell back into his lap.

Korra held her breath as she lifted the mask from his face, and as soon as she saw that angular, chiseled face and the fiery amber eyes, she felt a strange rush of relief and pity and shock. It was as she'd thought—it was Mako.

Her mind's eye flashed back to the memory of yesterday, when Mako had uttered those strange words at her—_"What if I were the enemy? ...I'm a complete and total stranger. I could have been feeding you lies all along._"

So he'd tried to tell her—or had he just been toying with her, dangling the truth in front of her and seeing if she'd catch it? Korra felt her head spin.

There was a long period of silence where all that moved was the fire beside them and their eyes searching each other's. Korra felt the rubbery texture of the mask in her hand and heard his breath, even and shallow, as he watched her watch him, his face somehow vulnerable and devoid of expression all at once.

Carefully, she got off of her hands and sat back on her knees. "You," she finally breathed.

Mako nodded, and then he looked off to the side, brow furrowed. "When I met you yesterday..."

Her shock and strange sense of calm finally began to ebb away, and suddenly, she felt a sense of anger at having been deceived, although even she could have admitted that it was dull, not the sharp and cutting hatred she'd felt towards him when she'd known him merely as Amon's Equalist assistant.

_Amon's assistant._

There were a thousand things she wanted to say to him, shout at him, now that his mask was off and she could say them to his face. She wanted to tell him how the Equalists had driven the kindest people she'd known to leave their homes and hide away underground. She wanted to tell him that one of her closest friends had lost the only parent she had left to this pointless cause. She wanted to scream at him that he had exhausted her both physically and mentally in these last few weeks, chasing down her and her friends night after night, her stomach churning each time at the possibility of losing any one of them. She wanted to tell him that in the darkest, deepest parts of her soul, she had wanted to hurt him so badly that it would scare even Amon into submission.

And yet, when she saw how obviously lost he was, she couldn't say any of it.

She clenched her fist around the mask, and a pained look crossed her face.

"Why did you help me?"

"You already asked me that—"

"No!" Korra interjected, shaking her head. "Why did you help me yesterday? You were still you then—and you knew who I was!"

Mako was silent, although his frown grew deeper.

"You're not going to tell me?" Korra demanded, and she felt oddly comforted by the anger that was rising up in her chest. Anger was good—at least she knew what it was. It made sense to feel it.

"No, I..." Mako sighed, clearly aggravated. A few seconds passed before he managed to speak up again. "It didn't make sense to me, to take you captive or to kill you, or even to hurt you."

"Well, why not?" Korra snapped. Somehow, that explanation was even more infuriating. But he responded immediately, almost with no pause, surprising her.

"You acted like I was human." He said it so simply and matter-of-factly, watching her now with eyes that glowed orange in the firelight.

Now, it was Korra's turn to pause as she weighed the words in her head. That was it?

"You _are_ human," Korra finally said, furrowing her brow, and all the anger had left her in one great _whoosh_, so that she couldn't even bother faking it. She sat back and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Yeah, well, it's not so easy to see that when you're on one side or the other of this war," Mako muttered. "Think about it. Wasn't it simpler when it was like this?" He reached over and gently grabbed the mask out of Korra's hands and slid it back on.

Korra stared. He was right. When the mask was on, he was just another Equalist—another faceless creature, not human. He was just someone who wanted to bring an end to the world as she knew it. She grew uncomfortable, and she reached over and pulled it back off. For a moment, she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, and she stared down at the mask again, her lips in a slight pout as she thought to herself.

"See?" Mako said. "It was the same with you. Before, you were just the Avatar, the leader of the opposition. But I met you yesterday, and at first, you were just a normal girl. You were a human. So when I realized you _were_ the Avatar, I couldn't not see that in you anymore."

"So it was that simple?" Korra asked.

Mako shut his eyes for a moment and exhaled. "No," he said, opening his eyes again and looking into the fire. "If I'm being honest... I _did_ try. When I was telling you that you could have killed me, that I was a stranger, that I might have been lying to you—I wanted you to attack."

Korra leaned forward, fascinated and disturbed all at once.

"But you didn't," Mako said quietly. "You said you couldn't. Because I had a brother. Because of Bolin."

"It was the truth," Korra said, her voice just as quiet now. "I couldn't do that to him—and I couldn't do that to you." She bit her lip before she let out a long sigh. "And even now..."

_Even now that I know what you are, I can't do that to you._

She didn't finish, and Mako smirked mirthlessly before he looked away from the fire, to her, echoing her own thoughts out loud. "Now that we're here... What do we do?"

Korra shook her head. "I don't know. It should be easy." She paused. "We should be fighting right now, to the death."

Mako scoffed. "I really could kill you in an instant. Your bending won't come back for another hour at least."

Korra narrowed her eyes. "I'm a lot more than my bending skills, Equalist. You could try. I don't think you'd succeed."

Mako raised his hands. "I'm joking, I'm joking. I know it wouldn't be _that_ easy," he said with a smirk.

Korra glowered at him, but then to her own surprise, she burst out into full-on laughter, and she couldn't tell whether she was more horrified or amused. "Did we just make a joke about...killing each other?"

Mako chuckled. "I guess we did. Wow, that's messed up." His smile faded as he watched the fire once more, and then, he was somber again. "So what do we do?" he repeated in a whisper, more to himself than to her.

"I'm assuming this means the killing-each-other isn't an option anymore," Korra said, and although her words were joking, her tone was as serious as his expression.

"I don't know," Mako said, and he groaned into his hands. "I don't know. I—" he looked at her. "Right now... I don't know if I can."

Korra felt a painful churning in her stomach. She wished she didn't know what it was, but she was almost certain of its source. To sever the connection she'd just made—this strange, firelit bond—by taking his life, or by letting him take hers, suddenly felt like it would have terrible consequences. "You know... Me, either. Not right now."

"Then should we just leave this until next time?" Mako asked, brow furrowed. "Would that even make _sense_?"

"It doesn't make sense, but what does anymore?" Korra replied honestly, raising her hands in the air. "None of this was supposed to happen."

"You're right." Mako paused. "Will we have it figured out by the next time we meet, then?"

"I hope so," Korra said quietly. "I don't know what we'll do if we don't."

"Me, either," Mako said, looking at the ground. He looked so torn and lost that Korra wondered if she'd see that face beneath his mask the next time she came across him.

"To our teams, then, we—"

"We keep this between us," Mako finished.

Korra nodded, relieved. "Then..."

"You're free to go," Mako said with a nod. "You'll have to swim... Your bending isn't back yet," he said sheepishly. "But it's a short distance."

Korra didn't know whether to laugh or to scoff. She stood, and Mako stood with her, approaching her. "Do you need me to show you the way back?" he asked awkwardly.

"Maybe it's better that we end it here tonight. We're walking away with our lives. If anyone saw us, we'd be throwing that away. Don't worry about me," Korra grinned. "I can find my own way home."

Mako nodded. "Right. Well, then..."

His eyes met hers, and Korra could not bring herself to look away. She realized just how close they were standing to each other, and she thought again about this bond they'd created, forbidden and senseless but somehow comforting, and what it would mean for them when they inevitably crossed paths again...

She felt her heart jump when he reached out to touch her face, but she didn't find herself backing away—but just centimeters away, he stopped himself.

"Until next time, Korra."

Korra drew in a sharp breath and nodded to him before heading out of the cove and diving straight into the choppy water, hoping that her heart would steady itself.

* * *

Hi, everyone! I know it's been a long, _long_ while. I apologize for that. The summer was a bit busier than I thought it'd be, and as I'm in school now and getting ready for law school, I've been studying overtime with literally no time for anything else. However! To anyone who was concerned that I might drop this story, please don't worry. It's really rare that I abandon a story, especially one that I've already finished almost halfway through. I'll continue to try to update when I can—that's a promise!

I also really want to thank all of you for your amazing reviews. Chapter five got the most reviews out of a singular chapter I've posted of anything, _ever_, which is insane in the best way. You all are amazing, and I really appreciate all of the love and support you've given me. I know it's a lot to ask after not updating for so long, but please keep it up! I haven't responded to many reviews, but I'll definitely go through and at least try to answer the questions that some of you have left me. I'm really sorry about the delay.

This chapter was a bit difficult to write because Mako and Korra are both so stubborn naturally, but I had to make them a bit more pliable here. I apologize if anything seems out of character—they'll be back on their game in the next chapter, no worries. :)

As usual, thank you so much, and please leave a review on your way out! Love you guys.

-boreum dal


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